'Nighthawking' is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe illegal metal-detecting on archaeological sites or other areas of archaeological heritage, usually in order to recover treasure or other items of value. Such treasure-hunts ruin fragile finds like mosaics.[1] The name refers to the fact that such illegal metal detecting is usually performed at night, to avoid arrest[2].
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Nighthawking can break the law on a number of points:
Nighthawkers are considered to be separate from law-abiding metal detectorists[4], as they do not follow the codes of practice laid out by such hobbyist groups as The National Council for Metal Detecting[5] or the Federation of Independent Detectorists[6]. However, it has been claimed that nighthawkers use such groups as a method of obtaining information about archaeological sites.
Despite the difference between the two groups, nighthawking has had a detrimental effect on the reputation of legitimate metal detectors.
Nighthawking is currently the subject of a study[7] being undertaken by Oxford Archaeology and collectively funded by English Heritage, Cadw, Historic Scotland, National Museum, National Museum of Wales and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The primary aim of the study, which is to be titled: 'Nighthawks and Nighthawking: Damage to Archaeological Sites in the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies caused by illegal searching and removal of antiquities' , is to assess the level of damage caused by Nighthawking to British archaeological heritage and to study the adequacy of current law in dealing with Nighthawking. In this it is seen as a more detailed continuation of more general studies such as the CBA's report: 'Metal Detecting and Archaeology in England' [8], which dealt with independent metal detecting in general rather than the specific practice of nighthawking.
Other relevant bodies associated with the study are Archaeology Guernsey, Jersey Heritage Trust, Manx National Heritage, National Museums Scotland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.